The Lost Tiger Girl
by Ashrandi the skull kid
Summary: 19 years ago, Volke and Bastian stole something from the "Cult of Havoc," and their dear friend was kidnapped because of it. Now, they have a chance to save her, but at what cost... VolkexOC. This is NOT a VolkexBastian fic and there is no yaoi. Just FYI. DISCONTINUED
1. A Lost Friend

**This is my first Fire Emblem fanfic, so I'm trying to keep the characters… well… in "character." Bastian's speech pattern is hard to imitate, though. Sheesh! Ok, enjoy this story; I hope I actually finish it.**

"You're sure?"

"Absolutely, dearest Volke. Would I tell thee a lie about our common friend? Come now! I am above that!"

Volke stepped back out of surprise and slumped against the wall of Bastian's room. For the first time in a long time, the assassin felt his heart thump furiously. Could it be that the third member of the Fayre Trio was still alive? The mere thought shattered Volke's calm exterior. Bastian was still standing by the cherry-wood table, holding a tome and fiddling with some papers sprawled across the table.

"She's… alive?" the assassin gasped, tugging on his collar as if the temperature in the room had just skyrocketed.

Bastian put down his tome and nodded. "Yes, from what my sources have learned. However, there is a problem…"

_Of course there is,_ Volke thought wryly, scrambling to his feet for fear that someone would come into the room. Bastian hadn't locked the door, and the assassin was worried that the count's vassals weren't as trustworthy as he'd made them out to be. It would ruin his reputation if someone were to find him stunned… something that Volke knew would be disastrous to his career.

"What's the problem?"

The count of Fayre sighed. "Our common friend is being held quite uncomfortably in the Cult's fortress atop the waves. I have already contacted them, but they will not lend me an ear until I can produce the artifacts we stole from them. And a payment for our friend's release has been asked of me, as well."

Volke straightened his jacket. "Hmmm… so you don't have the artifacts? Is that why you called me here so suddenly?"

"Yes, indeed that is the case. Because of the nature of the exchange, I couldn't call on anyone else. And I thought that you would enjoy having the honor of being the one to set our little dove free."

"Alright, I'll find them. Do you have the locations?"

"… No."

Volke slapped his face. "Then how do you expect me to **find** them?"

Bastian smiled. "You are the best at finding things that don't want to be found. At the present time, my hands are tied up in politics…"

"And yet you find time to meet with me. A rather odd schedule, Bastian."

"Well… I can't have dear Queen Elincia knowing about this. It would ruin her reputation with the nobles. So I can be of no aid to you."

"Hmph! Typical. But you've never once lied to me (or fallen behind on a payment), so I'll do this on my own. Should I know about where to make the exchange once I have the artifacts?"

The count picked up the papers he'd been fiddling with idly before and gave them to Volke. "The details are in here. I'm assuming that you can pay the ransom. When you've got our friend back, be sure to tell me. We've all got a lot of catching up to do."

The assassin flipped through the pages. "Of course. I should get started then."

With that, Volke slipped through the room and out a window into the night.

**Please comment. Next section is a flashback. Woot!**


	2. Flashback

**Flashback time!**

Volke sat in the tree beside his house, pondering how to tackle his latest "job." Three artifacts – that's what he, Bastian, and their friend had stolen from the mysterious Cult of Havoc. A sword, a staff, and a tome – that was all. He just needed to get those back and then he's have his friend back.

His friend… Volke closed his eyes. How long had it been since he'd seen her? While thinking of where to find the ancient weapons, his thoughts drifted back to the last time the Fayre Trio had been together…

_It was summer in Tellius, 19 years ago. Fayre bordered the sea, so Bastian was granted a few days off from his lessons to relax at the harbor beaches. He was going to have some fun in the sand and cool off._

_At least, that's what he told his guardian. His real plan was much more diabolical. And it involved getting the infamous "Fayre Trio" together._

_Bastian, the son of the current count of Fayre, was the leader of the Trio. He thought up all of the schemes they got into and had some weird way of pulling those stunts off. Volke was the second. A petty thief from the streets, he had befriended Bastian while trying to steal the blonde boy's purse. He did most of the dirty work, some of which Bastian added to his plans just to mess with Volke. And the third member – she was something else entirely…_

_Bastian and Volke arrived at the harbor together. The thief was munching on a loaf of bread and wearing some of Bastian's less pompous clothing… just so that he wouldn't draw as much attention. The wind mage, however, was having fun with a spell he'd recently learned and laughed as the wind blew the ladies' skirts up._

_Volke rolled his eyes at his friend's perverted pastime, but he didn't do anything to stop him. Secretly, he found it very amusing. "Bastian," the thief said in a half-condescending tone, "if Kaylian finds you doing that, you'll be beaten up good."_

_Bastian laughed at Volke's comment. "Yep, she will. But she won't know. I'm being discrete about this."_

"_Yeah right," Volke laughed with him. "You? Discrete? I don't think so."_

"_Bastian's being discrete? Now that's a change."_

_Both boys whirled around to see Kaylian. She was beautiful… to them, at least. Short, green hair was pinned up in a bun at the back of her head, revealing pointed green ears covered with short hair. A long, green tail emerged from her baggy shorts, and a sleeveless shirt with silver embroidery around the edges hugged her lithe body – just enough to make the boys sweat, but not enough to really show anything._

"_He's trying," Volke smiled at the tiger laguz girl._

"_And failing utterly," she chirped, dancing up to the thief and giving him a peck on the cheek. Volke blushed, despite himself._

"_Hey!" Bastian whined. "I am so being discrete! You don't know what I was doing, do you?"_

_Kaylian half hid a smile. "Now I do… pervert."_

_Volke and the laguz girl laughed as Bastian mimicked beating them both up. But he settled down and, pretending to be a snooty noble, he outlined the Fayre Trio's latest scheme._

_A ship flying no colors was docked in the harbor, and the Trio was going to sneak onboard and steal anything interesting. Bastian assured his friends that the theft would only be temporary, and they were going to return whatever they took right when everyone was in a panic. It was a perfect plan: Kaylian would distract the guard while Volke and Bastian snuck on and rummaged around. Once they got the goods, Bastian would whip up a wind so that anyone onboard would run to secure the rigging, giving the two boys a chance to sneak off._

_Everything went perfectly, up until the part where the guard noticed the unnatural wind. Kaylian had been talking with him that entire time while Bastian and Volke were onboard, so when the boys came off the boat with the three treasures neatly tucked under their clothes, the tiger girl was gone._

_They elected to watch the ship until they could rescue Kaylian, but near dusk, a dozen men in dark cloaks walked up the plank. The guard bowed to each of them in turn, and, when the last one passed, he pulled up the plank and shoved off. Volke and Bastian were in disbelief. If the newly discovered Cult of Havoc had taken the girl, surely they would've released her…right?_

"_Kaylian must've just gone home," Bastian said._

_But they both knew that she would never abandon them. If they told what had happened to the authorities, they all would get in trouble. And the dozen dark mages had so scared the boys that they didn't want to see them ever again._

_So, they left, pretending that nothing had happened that day…_

Volke felt a tear roll down his cheek and wiped it away. 19 years had passed; what would Kaylian think of them? The assassin dreaded learning the truth, but he so wanted to see her – so wanted to hear her laugh and peck him on the cheek – that he would endure anything.

_But first,_ he thought, _I have to find the artifacts. Bastian lost them over 10 years ago, so pawn shops aren't likely to have them. But the staff,_ Volke consulted the papers Bastian had given him, _the Staff of Stone. It might be in a temple. I'll start with the temples in Fayre._

Folding the papers and stuffing them in his jacket, Volke got up and jumped to the ground. "Hold on, Kaylian," he muttered. "I'll rescue you. Just wait."

**Please comment. I want to know how I'm doing on the story, and how I'm portraying Volke. He's one of my favorite characters, and I've always wanted to write his back story. Hope you liked it.**


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